April is the artichoke’s moment of glory — or rather, its six to eight weeks of glory, when nearly half the year’s supplies will be picked. This softball-sized, spiky, green vegetable won the hearts of Egyptian pharaohs, Marilyn Monroe and the people of the tiny coastal town of Castroville. Every April, growers will tell you that the “artichokes even grow on fence posts.” The nearly 5,000 acres of artichokes make an impressive sight as you drive down the bumpy roads of Castroville, the artichoke capitol of the world.

Neither fruit nor vegetable, these edible flowers are the flowering bud of the Mediterranean thistle. The huge artichokes you see sitting high atop the plant, like the lighted star on a Christmas tree, are called the terminal bud. And the delicious plant’s history begins on the banks of the Nile River, where the original plants bore a close resemblance to the cardoon. As the Roman Empire spread, so did the artichoke, into Spain, France and Italy. Italian immigrants in San Francisco were the first to plant artichokes in Castroville in the early 1920s.

There are three simple rules for picking the best artichokes. The ones with the fattest stems have the biggest hearts. Pick an artichoke that feels heavy for its size — that means more flesh on the leaves. And finally, without poking yourself, give the globe a gentle squeeze. If it squeaks, it’s fresh.

Michael Marks is the marketing manager for FreshPoint.

CeleryOxnard$1.49-$1.79 per bunchTips: After so much rain, you may notice some cracking in the outer stalks and increased pithiness. Pick up a stalk. If it feels light, like balsa wood, those are pithy stalks. Choose another bunchNapa CabbageOxnard, Mexico69-89 cents per poundTips: Gently squeeze the head. Do you feel something hard right in the middle? That could be Napa going to seed, which means much of the middle will be unusable. Pick another head. WatermelonMexico59-69 cents per poundTips: Finally, spring supplies have begun to flow in from fields closer to our border. That means the melons will be fresher, crisper and taste sweeter.

Violent police encounters in California last year led to the deaths of 157 people and six officers, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday in a report that provides the first statewide tally on police use-of-force incidents.